Device for assembling collapsible egg cartons



March 16, 1948. SCHWARTZBERG 2,438,074

DEVICE FOR ASSEMBLING COLLAPSIBLE EGG CARTONS Filed June 29, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 16, 1948. SCHWARTZBERG DEVICE FOR ASSEMBLING COLLAPSIBLE EGG CARTONS Filed June 29, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 16, 1948 UNITED" STATES PATENT OFFICE DEVICE EOR'ASSEMBLING COLLAPSIBLE EGG CART-N8 Louis Schwartzberg; Chicago, Ill.

Application-lime, 19.44,.SeriaLNo. 542,743

Claims. 1,

This invention relates in, general to acarton assembler and is more particularly; describedas an assembling device for egg-cartons, althoughoit may have a more general use-forother: purposes.

Cartons for containing-eggs and similar. articles are usually formed of cardboard or. other similar material supplied in partially; assembled fiat folding pieces tooccupy a minimum offspace whennot' inruse. When it is desired to use the carton, it is partially set up and extended, and'is;

held in distended, position-byone: or more 'partitions inserted in openings and. having notches engagingother partitions ofrithe,cartonionseparating the eggs and to hold thecarton indistended position. Because of the: numberof slots-and;

perforations which must be. engaged in; assembling an ordinary eg zcarton; itvis not an easy matter toextend or setrup acarton of this kind ready for use.

The present invention is-therefore designedandi intended to provide an assembly form. for: receiving. cartons in partially-extended form; .to-hcld them in place. to provide asupport'for thelid' of the carton whileit isbeing. assembled;.and"to retain a portion of the carton in place sothatapartition may be readily assembledin-thecarton which is thus firmly retained in position.

An important object of theinventionis toprovide an assembling form or device for'receiving one ormore diiferent cartons.

A further object of the invention is: to provide an assembly device adapted to-receive cartons of somewhat differentform' or construction;

A furtherobject of the inventionis-to provide a carton assembly device having-a common rest or support for cartons at either side thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carton assembling device of new and-improved construction characterized by simplicity of design so that cartons-can be'assembled quickly and- Figure l is a perspective of, an assembly device in accordancewith the present invention;

Figure Z-shows-the assembly device of Figure l witha-n egg carton partially assembledand-seated therein;

Figure" 3' is'a perspectiveof a partition insertablein thecartonof Figure 2;

Figurekis a similar view of the assembler with a carton completed by the-insertion of'a partition as shown in Figure-3 therein;

Figure 5' is a seetional'v-iew taken on the line 5 -5 oi 'Figure 4'; and

Figure 6- isa transverse section taken on the lineii liiofii igure-.

Although only one-form of eggcarton isshown in the' accompanying drawings, it will be understoodthatthis assembler-may. be applied equally well towcartons' of difierent form Lor construction, or: of difierent? size :sincesthe invention is not directediparticularly-to: the form of the carton but rather to the form and construction of theassembler.

Referrin now more; particularly tothedrawings; this: assembler; comprises, a base or; bottom v H1; with;ups-tanding; oppositesides' Hand 12', one

of the; sides. I I being at right; angles: to the; bottom, and the other l2wmaking;a slightly-obtuse angle with .the. inside ;of the: bottom;

Secured to the bottom, between and parallel to the sidesis a central support. l3. held above the base:-- I 0. by; sides.- l4'and; l5. These'sides are securedbothto the-bottom an'dtothe-under side ofrthesupport l3 at the edges thereof, the height of the. sides being substantially the same as-that of the outersides H and I2.- so-that thesupport I3 is raised the thicknessof the support above all ofthe sides. One of. the sides i4. is preferably disposed atrightanglesto the bottom and the support 13, .andadjacent-and parallel to the outer sidelL. Theother. supporting side I5 islikewise secured. to the bottom and .to, the.- support I3 at an angle, thereto substantially th same a as that which theouten side, l2 makes. withthe-=bottom and. at an opposite. direction, thereto.

Witllthisconstruction, a. double-trough is provided, one having straightsides and the other having. inclinedsides, with a common support betweenthem.

The. receivingtroughs. provided by the; assembier. are for; the.. purposeof seating therein cartonsof. corresponding shapeand size whenthey are completely; set upon assembled. Ordinarily cartons. such as those for containing eggs are shipped. in. folded. or knock-down. condition: and in. at. least; two; parts. one. being: an; outer. container IS with sides I! and 18 extending therefrom, one of which terminates in a cover IS with engaging undercut flaps 20. In the container is a lower partition 2| spaced above the bottom havinga row of central longitudinal slots 22 and an upper partition 23 having downwardly foldable flaps 24 with slots 25 in their upper edges when turned downwardly.

A carton of this kind is set into one of the assembly troughs and the sides extended in a well known manner to fit the trough with the upper partition and foldable flaps 24 then appearing as shown in Figure 2.

A separate longitudinal partition 26 is also provided which must be inserted within the carton to hold the carton in distended position. This longitudinal partition has recesses 21 opening from the lower edge and corresponding in number to the foldable flaps 24 of th'e carton with a notch 28 at one side of each recess adapted to engage in the longitudinal slots 22, when the lower extremities 3| of the partition between the recessses are inserted through the slots 22.

To set up a carton, the flaps 24 are turned downwardly about fold lines 29 at one edge of angular portions 30 of the partition 23 so that th'e slots 25 extend upwardly. These flaps space the opposite sides l1, l8 apart and form double containers for eggs in the carton, and the insertion of the partition 26 divides this space into separate containers for eggs. The lower extremities 3| of the partition are inserted through the perforations 22, the recesses 21 then engaging in th'e notches 25 of the flaps 24 and holding these flaps in rigid upright position, first drawing the flaps rearwardly in a slightly inclined position as indicated in Figure 4, and then pushing the partition oppositely until the notches 28 of the partition engage with the slots 22 as shown more clearly in Figure 5.

In this position, the partition 26 is locked in place, the cross partitions formed by the flaps 24 are locked in place by the longitudinal partition and the carton may be removed from the assembling trough ready to receive eggs or other articles for which it is intended.

In closing the carton, the cover I9 is turned over until the undercut tongues 20 may be inserted between the partition 23, the undercut extremities being bent inwardly and then springing outwardly under the angular portions 30, thus locking the cover in place. The particular form of the carton is not material to the present invention, it being sufficient that the carton is extensible, has extensible parts, and requires the application or insertion of some other part in order to set up or complete the carton.

Diflerent forms of cartons when set up require different assembly troughs, and in order to make this device more applicable to different cartons, one trough has straight sides and another has sides which converge slightly downward. By providing the intermediate platform or support l3, the assembler may be used from either end; that is, when assembling cartons in one trough, the cover will fold over on top of the support and may be engaged by one hand of the operator to hold the carton in place as the partition is ap-.

plied thereto; if the opposite trough is used, the cover will fold over in the opposite direction upon support l3 for engagement by the hand of an operator. If the same, hand is used for both of such engagements, the operator will be more conveniently located at one end of the assembler for locked in place.

one trough and at the other end of the assembler for the other trough,

In this assembling block or form, the carton is held firmly in position so that the bendable parts are not easily torn, distorted or moved out of place, thus making it easier to apply the locking partition and to hold the parts in their proper relation while the partition is being applied and The pressure of one hand of the operator upon the cover is sufflcient to hold the carton tightly in one of the assembly troughs and the carton is easily removed by pulling up on the cover when the assembling operation is completed. With this construction, cartons may be assembled more quickly and without danger of tearing or otherwise damaging the cartons, thus resulting in greater speed of assembly at less cost per carton.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An assembler for folding egg cartons, comprising a base having a raised support, and means attached to the base at each side of the support for receiving and limiting the unfolding of a carton to be assembled therein.

2. A carton assembler for collapsible egg cartons, comprising a base with a, central raised support, means secured to the base and extending parallel to the sides of the support forming troughs for receiving cartons therein and limiting the unfolding movement thereof, one of the troughs having inclined sides converging toward the bottom.

3. A carton assembler for extensible collapsed egg cartons, comprising a supporting base, a pair of supports extending upwardly from the base at right angles thereto, another pair of supports extending upwardly from the base parallel to and spaced from the first set of supports but inclined slightly to the base and to each other in an outwardly flaring direction, each pair of supports with the base forming a receiver for limiting the extension of a carton therein, and a connecting top plate between the adjacent side supports of each of the troughs.

4. The combination in an assembler for extensible and foldable cartons of different shapes, each having a hinged cover, of an assembly block therefor having troughs of difierent shapes corresponding to the cartons and limiting their extensible movement, and a common support between troughs of difierent sizes to engage the covers of the cartons when turned thereover for holding the carton in assembling position in its respective trough.

5. A carton assembly structure for collapsed extensible egg cartons comprising a base, upright side pieces secured to opposite sides of the base, one side piece being at right angles to the base and the other side piece being inclined to form a slightly obtuse angle with the base, an intermediate support having side pieces at its edges for connecting it to the base at the level of the two outer sides, one of the side pieces of the support being at right angles to the base and the other side piece of the support being at an angleto the base and opposite to the angle of the side piece secured at the edge of the base, the connected side pieces forming a trough at one of the troughs.

LOUIS SCHWARTZBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Tibbals May 29, 1906 Sundee Feb. 18, 1908 Christ-man et a1. Apr. 6, 1926 Neely Mar. 8, 1938 

